Toy wheel and method of making



Feb. 24, 1953 w M, D. WALKLET 2,629,420

TOY WHEEL AND METHOD OF MAKING Filed Nov. 28, 1947 INVENTOR MERCY-W2WAlA lff ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 24, 1953 fJfUNI TED STATES PATENT.omen-j ."Ihei'pre'sent invention relates to a new andimpfovedconstruction for a tired wheel, "and, in particular; to a wheelin miniature adapted for "employment on toy vehicles. In the wheels for"this'purposea solid rubber tire is usually ce;

merited in a depressed channel formed on the periphery of a disk wheel.This type of wheel has certain disadvantages which it is the purlpos ofthe present invention to overcome. One

objectionto the old-typewheel is the expense, dueto the fact that afull, round rubber tire is employed, and another objection is the factthat in service the rubber tire frequently becomes detached from itsseat on the wheel.

' #With the construction shown and described herein the-cost'of thewheel is substantially reduced because the'wheel employs much lessrubwithout sacrifice t'o'the cushioning efiect of the'tire. While thesaving in rubber in a single wheel may not be impressive, yet theroduction "of these is very heavy and, as the vehicles or toys" areusually sold at relatively close margins,

thedmprove'd wheel constitutes a substantial saving-in production andassembly. Furthermore; the tire 'is structurally anchored on the wheeland'cannot be removed short of destruction bf thetire;

While the invention i intended primarily for use on toy vehicles, theconstruction may also be adapted for larger scale use.

Itlis therefore among the objects of this in- 'vention'to" provide atired wheel which is easy "and economicaf'of assembly, 'in which thetire {is anchored with "greater certainty than heretoibr; and'ifiwhichthe'amount of tire material 'isreducedwithout sacrifice to appearance orutility! It is'a further object of the invention to construct such atired wheel by an improved .mflidd:

To these and other ends which will become manifest as the descriptionproceeds, the invention will be made clear in the accompanyingspecification taken in conjunction with the drawing in which likenumerals represent like parts throughout the several views and in which:Fig.1 is 'a dimetral section through the commeted wheel' and tireassemblage;

""Figi' 2"'islafragment of sucha diametral section to enlarged scale atan intermediate stage of assembly; and

c Fig. 3 is a viewsimilar to Fig. 2 with assembly completed.

In Fig. lthere is shown generally at l a disk wheel'h'aving a tire showngenerally at 2. The disk-is "preferably composed of two 'rnirro'riim-TOYW HEEL AND METHOD 10F. MAKING Mercer'll Walklehn kron,bhio I n 2 2 a.Application November 28, rensena n vsarn 16 Claims. (c1.,152 ss0-) 2age elements,'which may each be iormedqin a single stamping operatiomandthen secured togetherby appropriate means. Due to the similarity of thedisk halves only one is shown with reference characters. Each halfcomprises a central, dome portion 3 having an inwardly flanged bearingportion 4 for reception of an axle. A staggered portion 5 may beprovidedin the dome or hub 3 for decorative purposes; and a planarportion't' centrally of the wheel connects the hub with an annulus I ofsemi-circular section limited by a flange 8 directed axially of thewheel, continuing into a planar portion 9 in the plane of portion 6 andoutwardly bent as at I0 in generally arcuate form to roughly parallel atire profile in section, but spaced at its outer end from thesemi-circular annulus I. 8 for mounting the tire, as will appear.

The tire comprises a tractive portion which may have treads H and whichhas an inner profile corresponding generally with the flanges I0. Alonga region 12 the tire has an inwardly bent, preferably flat portion tomate with the flange 8, and, from thence, an upwardly turned portiondefining a loop dimensioned tosnugly receive the outwardly bent portionID of the disk.

It will thus be seen that a tire, constructed generally along the linesindicated, can be assembled to the disk by the simple expedient ofhooking the looped portion [2, l3 about the flange l0. As shown in Fig.2, this mounting can be facilitated if the flanges l0 arearrangedoutwardly of their final position in the fabrication of the disk. Themounting is then completed by pressing the flanges to final,tire-locking position shown inFig. 3. v

The resultant product is paring of tire mawalls 8, 9, l0, [3. Yet theoutward appearance is maintained as well as sturdiness'of construction.At the same time, a tire-retaining feature is provided which is positiveand of no greater complexity'in assembly than the simple act of placingthe tire on the wheel.

It will be understood that the embodiment shown which represents thepresently preferred form of the invention does not encompass the entirescope thereof and that certain changes may be made without departingfrom the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. Forinstance, the flange It need not be continuously annular, but beingconcealed, may be serrated to facilitate bending; the exact form I ofthe are at H] may also be varied as well-as the loop in thetii'e at 13,and, in particular the latter need not be continuously annular. The tiremay be made and vulcanized in strip form or it may be vulcanized as anendless annular unit.

What is claimed is:

1. A method of constructing a tired wheel comprising the steps ofproviding a wheel portion proper having a set of outwardly opposedflanges at its periphery, providing a tire having inwardly loopedportions on its inner periphery, engaging said looped portions aroundthe extremities of said flanges and bringing the loop-engagingextremities into contact with a portion of said wheel whereby to lockthe tire in place.

2. A method of making a tired wheel which comprises providing a pair ofwheel portions proper, bending the said portions transversely at theirperipheries, joining the said portions so that the bent portions are inopposed direction and outwardly of the wheel, placing a tire around thesaid bent portions in engaging relation with the extremities thereof,respectively, and bringing the so-engaged extremities into contact witha portion of the wheel to lock the tire in place.

3. A method of making a tired wheel which comprises providing a pair ofwheel portions proper, bending the said portions transversely at theirperipheries into generally arcuate form, joining the said portions sothat the bent portions are in opposed direction and generally outwardlyof the wheel, placing a tire around the said bent portions in engagingrelation with the extremities thereof, respectively, and bringing theso-engaged extremities into contact with a portion of the wheel to lockthe tire in place.

4. A method of making a tired wheel which comprises providing a pair ofwheel portions proper, deforming the said portions to provide, in each,a hollow rim portion, and an outwardly turned flange at the outwardportion of said hollow rim portion, joining a pair of said wheelportions with the outwardly turned flanges opposed, engaging the innerperipheries of a tire around said outwardly bent peripheries, andbringing the so-engaged peripheries of the wheel portions substantiallyinto contact with the said hollow rim portion, whereby to lock the tirein place.

5. The method of making a tired wheel which comprises providing a pairof wheel portions proper, deforming said wheel portions to provide aloop in each wheel portion outward of the plane of the wheel. portionand constituting half of a hollow rim portion, forming a wall in theplane of each wheel portion outwarly of said rim portion and having aperipheral flange, joining said pair of wheel portions in back-to-backrelation whereby the peripheral flanges are outwardly opposed, engagingthe inner peripheral edges of a tire around the said flanges, andbending the so-engaged flanges in the direction of said rim portionwhereby to lock the tire in place.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein said peripheral flanges are bent intogenerally arcuate form, terminating adjacent to but spaced from said rimportions.

7. A wheel structure comprising a central body portion, said structureterminating at its periphery in outwardly opposed flanges with freeedges, and a tire having looped portions on its inner peripheryenveloping the free edges of said flanges.

8. A wheel structure comprising a central body portion, said structureterminating at its periphery in outwardly opposed flanges of generallyarcuate form with free edges, and a tire having looped portions on itsinner periphery enveloping the free edges of said flanges.

9. A wheel structure comprising a central body portion, said structureterminating at its periphery in outwardly opposed flanges, with freeedges, inclined generally at their extremities in a direction radiallyinwardly of the Wheel, and a tire having looped portions on its innerperiphery enveloping the free edges of said flanges.

10. A wheel structure comprising a central body portion, said structureterminating at its periphery in outwardly opposed flanges of generallyarcuate form, with free edges, inclined at their extremities in adirection radially inwardly of th wheel, and a tire having loopedportions on its inner periphery enveloping the free edges of saidflanges.

11. A wheel structure comprising a central body portion, said structureterminating at its periphery in outwardly opposed flanges, with freeedges, a tire having looped portions on its inner periphery envelopingthe free edges of said flanges, and abutments on the body portionunderlying the said looped portions of the tire in contacting relationtherewith to lock the said looped portions in enveloping relation tosaid free edges.

12. A wheel structure comprising a central body portion, said structureterminating at its periphery in outwardly opposed flanges of generallyarcuate form, with free edges, a tire having looped portions on itsinner periphery enveloping the free edges of said flanges, and abutmentson the body portion underlying the said looped portions of the tire incontacting relation therewith to lock the said looped portions inenveloping relation tosaid free edges.

13. A wheel structure comprising a central body portion, said structureterminating at its periphery in outwardly opposed flanges, with freeedges, inclined generally at their extremities in a direction radiallyinwardly of the wheel, a tire having looped portions on its innerperiphery enveloping the free edges of said flanges, and abutments onthe body portion underlying the said looped portions of the tire incontacting relation therewith to lock the said looped portions inenveloping relation to said free edges.

14. A wheel structure comprising a central body portion, said structureterminating at its periphery in outwardly opposed flanges of generallyarcuate form, with free edges, inclined at their extremities in adirection radially inwardly of the wheel, a. tire having looped portionson its inner periphery enveloping the free edges of said flanges, andabutments on the body portion underlying the said looped portions of thetire in contacting relation therewith to lock the said looped portionsin enveloping relation to said free edges.

15. A wheel structure comprising a central body portion and a continuousradially outer portion generally S-shaped in section on each side of acentral plane of the wheel, the radially inner loop of the S simulatinga wheel rim and the radially outer loop thereof constituting ananchoring means for the looped inner periphery of a tire to lock thesame against the central part of the S.

16. A wheel structure comprising, on each side of a central plane normalto the wheel axis, a continuous structure comprising a central bodyportion, a cup-shaped flange simulating a wheel rim, an inwardlydirected flange extending generally axially of the wheel, an uprightportion REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in thefile of this patent:

6 UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Number Name Date King Mar. 29, 1887Hoffman June 7, 1921 Root Nov. 1, 1921 Benson May 29, 1923 Gammeter Feb.19, 1929 Morgan et a1. Jan. 8, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date France1936

